Manipulative toy for child participation



July 15, 1969 K. e. NEILS 3,

MANIPULATIVE TOY FOR CHILD PARTICIPATION Filed Nov. 28, 1966 3 IN VENTOR. KE/V/VE 7H 6 NE/ L 5,

4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy in which a child may sit whileactivating various instrumentalities from the sitting position, said toycomprising a base portion, a platform pivoted on top of said baseportion, said platform including a seat and back rest, a boom mounted onthe platform projecting upwardly and outwardly therefrom, a pulley atthe free end of the boom, a drum rotatably mounted in the boom andhaving a crank handle which may be operated by the child while seated, acord wound on the drum passing over said pulley and having loadattaching means at its free end, a rotatable shaft manipulated by acrank on one end and attached to the base portion of the platform at theother end whereupon on rotation of said crank, said platform will turnin a 360 degree arc.

This invention relates generally to toys of the sit-on type in which achild seated on the toy itself may manipulate controls for performingvarious entertaining, educational and amusing functions.

It is an object of this invention to provide a toy as aforesaid, inwhich a child seated on the toy may perform at least two diversefunctions each involving only one hand.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy as aforesaid,in which the child seated thereon may devote both hands to theperformance of either of two functions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a toy as aforesaid,which will be simple and easy to assemble, lightweight but strong inconstruction and so simple in operation as to be easily within thecomprehension of the age group for which the toy is designed.

The above and other objects will be made clear from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the annexed drawing, inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the toy as a whole;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the toy as a whole; and

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation omitting only the uppermost parts.

It is well recognized that children enjoy imitating adult activities andthe greater their own participation in the simulation of suchactivities, the greater the enjoyment. This is why the sit-on type oftoy is vastly more appreciated than the small scale model, even thoughthe small scale model be capable of the same manipulation as that of asit-on toy. When the child can sit on the toy and actually participatein the manipulation and, at least to some extent, in the movements ofthe toy, the versimilitude of the simulation of adult activity isenormously increased. It was with these fundamental principles in mindthat the toy of this invention was devised.

The toy is made of a base portion which is gen erally frusto-pyramidalin form. A platform 12 forms a seat portion 14 with a back rest 16. Theplatform 12 is pivoted at 18 (FIGURE 1) to the upper portion of the base10.

A boom portion generally designated at 20 has side members 22, each ofwhich has an extension 24. The

3,455,464 Patented July 15, 1969 extensions 24 overlie and are securedto the seat portion 14 of the platform 12. A pair'of legs 26 form partof and depend from the base of the members 22 and support a foot rest28. A Winding drum 30 is secured to a shaft 32 which penetrates sidemembers 22 and has at one end a crank 34. At the outer end of the sidemembers 22 is a pulley 36 rotatably mounted on a shaft 38, with theshaft 38 penetrating the outer ends of the side members 22. A hoistingcord 40 is wound on the drum 30, passes over the pulley 36 and has atits free end a hook or other lifting device 42. The hook 42, of course,may be replaced by a bucket, a clam shell or any other suitable device.

In order that the platform 12 may rotate freely about the pivot 18, anumber of guide rolls or wheels 44 are interposed between the undersideof the platform 12 and the top of the base 10. Also fixedly secured tothe top of the base 10 is a grooved pulley 46.

A shaft 48 is journaled between the extensions 24 of the side members 22and has at its upper end a crank 50 and secured to its lower end agrooved pulley 52. A belt 54 passes around both pulleys 52 and 46 sothat upon rotation of the crank 50, the platform 12 will rotate aboutits pivot 18 through a full 360 degrees in either direction. In fact, inany one operation, several complete revolutions in either direction maybe made. The crank 50, it will be observed, is easily and convenientlywithin the reach of a child seated on the seat 14.

It will be noted that the arrangement described above places the childcomfortably in a position which he may simultaneously operate cranks 34and 50 or, if so desired, may use both hands to operate either. Theweight distribution, including the weight of the child, is such that itWill be almost impossible to unbalance the toy as a whole due to anyconceivable weight which may be lifted by the hook 42.

Numerous constructional details differing from those disclosed herein nodoubt will occur to anyone skilled in the art. The invention, therefore,is not to be limited to the precise details disclosed herein but only asset forth in the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy on which a child may sit while activating variousinstrumentalities from the sitting position, said toy comprising: a baseportion; a platform pivoted on top of said base portion, said platformconstituting a seat and back rest for a child; a boom portion mounted onsaid platform and projecting upwardly and outwardly therefrom; a pulleyat the free end of said boom portion; a drum rotatably mounted in saidboom portion and having a crank handle operable by a child seated onsaid platform; a cord wound on said drum, passing over said pulley andhaving load attaching means at its free end, a shaft mounted in saidplatform for rotation about a vertical axis, said shaft having at oneend a crank for manipulation by a child seated on said platform andhaving at its other end means connected to said base portion wherebyrotation of saidcrank will turn said platform about said pivot relativeto said base throughout a full 360 degrees.

2. A toy as set forth in claim 1, in which the means connected to saidbase portion comprises a pulley on said vertical shaft and a pulley onsaid base portion and a belt passing around both of said pulleys.

3. A toy as set forth in claim 1, in which a foot rest depends from saidboom portion.

4. A toy as set forth in claim 3, in which the means connected to saidbase portion comprises a pulley on said vertical shaft and a pulley onsaid base portion and a belt passing around both of said pulleys.

(References on following page) References CiQed UNITED 3,358,850 12/1967Neils 4640 XR STATES PATENTS ROBERT PESHOCK, Pn'rfiary Examiner Biby4640 Merrill 46 40 H. DINITZ, Assxstant Examlner Goldfarb 46-40 XR 5U.S. C1. X.R. Paul et a1. 21265 XR 4640

